Courtesy of GoGriffs.com
Canisius junior Phil Valenti scored a game-high 20 points to go with eight rebounds and three assists and the host Golden Griffins shot 50 percent from the field en route to an 81-66 victory over Marist on Hall of Fame Day Saturday afternoon in the Koessler Athletic Center. The win, which snapped Canisius’ three-game losing skid, improved the Blue and Gold to 12-17 overall and 7-11 in MAAC play, while Marist lost its fifth straight to fall to 5-22 overall and 2-16 in conference action.
Valenti finished the day by going 7-for-15 from the field, 3-for-5 from 3-point land and 3-for-3 from the free-throw line to lead three Griffs in double-figures scoring. Sophomore Kassius Robertson added 19 points and five rebounds to the winning effort, while senior guard Malcolm McMillan was good for 15 points, seven assists, four rebounds, a blocked shot and a steal in 33 minutes. Canisius made 31 of its 62 tries from the field, and the Blue and Gold closed out the contest by going a perfect 12-for-12 from the free-throw line.
Marist had three players score in double-figures as well, led by David Knudsen’s 16 points off the bench. The Red Foxes shot 39 percent from the field for the contest, with 10 of their 23-made field goals coming from 3-point land. Ryan Funk, younger brother of former Griff Tyler Funk, scored 15 points to go with six rebounds.
The win was the 460th career victory for head coach Jim Baron, who is in his fourth year at Canisius and his 29th season as a Division I head coach. Among active Division I head coaches, Baron is one of 35 coaches to claim 460 career wins to their record.
How It Happened:
• Canisius jumped out to an early 9-0 lead 3:21 into the game and led by as many as 11 points at 13-2 moments later. Valenti had five points and five rebounds before the game’s first media timeout, which came at 13:43 of the first half.
• Marist fought back and eventually took a 24-21 lead with 5:36 left before halftime thanks to a 17-4 run over the span of 3:53. In that run, the Red Foxes hit four 3-point field goals, capped by Knudsen’s triple from the far corner to give Marist its first lead of the game.
• Canisius took a 36-33 lead with 42 seconds left before halftime, but the Red Foxes sent the game to break tied at 36-36 after Knudsen drained a triple off an assist from redshirt-junior Khallid Hart. Canisius shot 46.9 percent from the field in the game’s first 20 minutes, while Marist went into the locker room at the half with 13 field goals, eight of which were 3-pointers.
• Canisius turned a 45-44 lead with 15:01 left to play into a 64-49 advantage on the power of a 19-5 run over the span of 4:48 midway through the second half to put the game away. In that run, Canisius knocked down a 3-pointer on three consecutive possessions, with McMillan earning one of the treys while being credited with an assist on the two other long-range makes.
• Marist was able to trim the Griffs’ lead to 68-58 with 6:25 left on the clock, but Canisius secured its third MAAC win at home this season by outscoring the Red Foxes 9-2 over the next 1:52. In that spurt, Canisius got points for four different players, and the run was capped by a 3-pointer from the top of the key by McMillan with 3:40 left in regulation time.
Beyond the Box Score:
• The Griffs out rebounded Marist 35-32, the second consecutive game where the Griffs won the battle of the board. Canisius is now 8-3 on the season when out rebounding its opponent.
• In each of the team’s last three wins (at Niagara, vs. Rider and vs. Marist), the Griffs have held their opponent under 40 percent from the field.
• Canisius was credited with season-high 42 points in the paint, and the Griffs turned 11 Marist turnovers into 19 points.
• The Griffs’ defense held Hart, Marist’s leading scorer who started the day ranked second in the MAAC in scoring average at 21.2 points per game, to just two points on two made free-throws.
• Saturday’s perfect 12-for-12 effort from the free-throw stripe for Canisius marks the first time the team has been perfect from the line since Jan. 13, 2012, when the tea went 2-for-2 in a home win over Marist.
Quotes from Canisius coach Jim Baron
“This was a great win for us. I talked to my players about being junk-yard dogs, about playing hard, playing focused. We scored 42 points in the paint, we had 19 points off turnovers and we got 10 second-chance points. If that’s not junk-yard basketball, I don’t know what is.”
“We have had a lot of close games here recently. I just kept trying to coaching these guys up and moving this thing forward. We’re taking it one game at a time. To get a good team effort like this, in a season where we’ve had some ups-and-downs, it feels good. The guys haven’t stopped believing in what we’re doing here. They come to work each and every day.”
“We knew coming in that Marist was a bit banged up. [Khallid] Hart hasn’t played much recently and [Parker] was out the other night with an illness. We knew that if we could pick up the pace a bit and force them to play fast, it was to our advantage. Give them credit, I think they have a really good group of guys there and they can hit the three when you give them a bit of space. We stayed aggressive and made some shots in the run in the second half that put us over the top.”
“I thought our crowd today was really good, and they gave us some energy too. I appreciate those folks sticking with us here and supporting us. Our guys played hard today and really left it out there. It was a total group effort.”
“I’m honored to win 460 career games. I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I have a lot of different people to thank. All of the players, the former assistants and staff, I’ve said this before, you can’t do this alone. You need plenty of support and hard work, and for me to say I’ve reached this milestone in my career, that’s special to me.”
Additional Game Notes:
• Canisius now leads the all-time series against Marist by a 25-18 count.
• The Griffs improved to 14-4 all-time against Marist in the Koessler Athletic Center with the victory.
• The 36-36 tie at halftime marks the first halftime tie for Canisius this season.
• Saturday’s win was the third time this season where the Griffs shot 50 percent or better from the field. The team is 2-1 in those three games.
• Canisius averaged 86.5 points per game against Marist this season in two games.
• Valenti has now scored 20-plus points in six games this season and eight times in his career.
• McMillan’s seven assists gives him five or more assists in a game 10 times this year and 37 times in his career.
• At halftime, Canisius honored its Sports Hall of Fame Induction Class for 2015. Former Griff basketball player Dennis Misko ’67 was honored with the Rev. Paul J. Dugan, S.J. Award, presented annually to recognize individuals and their contributions to Canisius athletics.
Up Next: Canisius will close out the home portion of the 2015-16 schedule on Thursday, Feb. 25, when the team hosts long-time rival Niagara in the Koessler Athletic Center. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. The 178th all-time meeting between the two Western New York rivals will be broadcast live on ESPN3, with the audio call on Timeless WECK 1230-AM and 102.9-FM in Buffalo and through GoGriffs.com.
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